"Hold on! Hold on. Joel!", Tommy struggled to find a way through the snow to catch up with his brother, who was already determined to take a look at where the light was coming from. "Joel, get back here. We don't even know if there are people or if it's just a coincidence."

Joel shrugged, not letting the light out of sight. He was afraid that if he blinked one too many times, he would loose it forever.

"We will find out soon.", he said and lowered his head to avoid getting hit by the ice crystals.

"Seriously? You just want to go in there? What if they are dangerous? Or some weird ass cult that is trying to stay hidden. There is no reason for staying here if Jackson is less than five hours away. Whoever lives here wants to be left alone."

Joel rolled his eyes.

"Tommy, I'm not trying to make friends. I just want to take a look."

"Taking a look might cost your head."

"I'll make sure it won't. And if they are not friendly, we can just kill them."

A mocking laugh escaped Tommy.

"Oh yeah, sure. Just kill everyone and everything. Ever heard about living and letting live? Ever heard of that?"

Suddenly, Joel stopped. He twirled around, his face twisted in anger. With this grim look on his face, he came closer to his brother.

"Tommy.", his voice was so calm that it made Tommy swallow hard. "I said, I want to take a look. We don't have to be seen by whoever is in there. And if we find something useful, we can just steal it in silence."

Tommy nodded.

"I'd prefer to bargain.", he suddenly said in a silent voice.

Joel pulled a face, incredibly annoyed by his brother.

Now that he thought about it, he came to the realisation that a lot of things that his parents had told him were true. No matter how old you were and no matter how good you were with your siblings, they will always annoy you at some point.

If it were for him, he would have liked to slam dunk Tommy head into the snow like he did back when they were children.

But the moment wasn't the best and the possibility that Tommy would try to fist fight him back wasn't low.

"Just give me backup.", Joel hissed and turned back to where he thought the light was. "Oh, fucking great, Tommy! Now it's gone."

Joel let out a sound of annoyance.

But now, tommy took the lead.

"It's right there.", he said and pointed into a completely different direction. "See. Yellow light, right there."

At the end of his nerves, Joel growled, now ready to actually fight his brother. But as he raised his gaze, he noticed that he was right.

There it was, this strangely warm light, in the middle of the blizzard, spreading its warm rays like the sun. It felt like a lighthouse, a safe space in the middle of a raging ocean of ice and white.

Somehow, he felt the need to go there.

His legs carried him through the storm, right towards this strangely yellow light.

Whoever was living there must have had a good source of electricity. Granted, Jackson had one as well, but it was a city with a few thousand people.

Some of which were electricians and scientists and engineers. Those people had made a huge impact and kept the electricity supply going.

This place, however, felt lonely and deserted.

Joel wasn't expecting to meet a lot of people, a handful at best. If it were for him, he would have liked to meet nobody, but he knew that this wish was unrealistic.

Somebody must live here.

"The door is visible.", Tommy noted, as he pressed his back against the wall and threw a gaze around the corner.

Joel nodded.

"Somebody was here not long ago.", he agreed.

"Or is still here.", Tommy threw a quick gaze towards the sky, right where a bit of light escaped through small windows. "Doesn't look like the light is burning all day long. Somebody must be in there, Joel."

"I know. Let's be quite and quick."

"Sneaking in, stealing goods and leaving?"

Tommy grinned like a boy, excited to finally be able to do some unlawful things again. He was glad that Jackson offered a safe space and a society as social as it used to be before the outbreak.

But Joel knew his brother and was able to tell that he sometimes missed the thrill of stealing and fighting trashy people without having to fear consequences.

For a moment, Joel stood silent. Then, he looked at the lit up windows as well.

The sound of raging wind chased around his head and made his ears feel numb.

"If possible, we should try to stay civil.", he said after a moment of thinking. "Maybe this person isn't eager to live in Jackson, but is friendly. Or at least peaceful. We should try to make connections. Could be useful."

Tommy squeezed his eyes together, blinded by the white of the snow.

"And if they are dangerous?", he screamed against the growing storm, which seemed to try to swallow the both of them alive.

Joel rolled his eyes.

"The same we always handle danger, Tommy."

"Guns and violence?"

"Guns and violence."

"Alright.", Tommy squeezed himself past his brother, one hand on the handle of the huge door. "Ready?"

Joel pulled his head in.

"Yeah.", he gave him a thumbs up. "Be as quite as possible."

Tommy let out a laugh.

"No, I'll go in there like an entire army.", he joked. "I'll take this place over."

Joel frowned, not able to suppress a thin smile.

"Tommy, I'm serious."

"Me too. I'll do it, I swear."

"Tommy."

Sighing, Tommy shook his head.

"Joel. I'm not an idiot. And I'm not a stupid kid anymore. You need to let go and trust me a bit."

With a sarcastic look on his face, Joel grabbed the handle of the door and helped his brother push it open.

"Honestly.", he said, looking back before entering the workshop. "I'd rather sleep with zombies than trust your skills of keeping it down, little brother."

Tommy gasped.

"You goddamn...", he cursed, chuckling.